interior plastics

I dont want any razzing when I say this, but I have a Pontiac   Bonneville. We are a young family, can't get into the truck scene just yet. Unfortunately the Bonneville is the only vehicle in this family. I will have my truck though, just not right now. I'm trying to make this car more comfortable and appealing as possible for the time its in my possession. I'm trying to paint all plastic items ie. door, and dash pieces just like in atruck. I'm on a very seriously limited budget. Spray paint. Black is my color choice. I need some advice here. i've done one piece, its actually duller with the clear coat than w/o. what would be proper procedure, in this process, with sanding and all. How m any coats of each (paint/clear), I want a glassy lookin' finish like the dashboards in your publication, any assisstance would be greatly appreciated. thank you.  

If the clear is coming out dull than something is going wrong. I don't know if you are laying it on too light of if its too cold where you are spraying. Getting the glass smooth look is going to be hard to do with spray paint because usually the primer is what gets sanded smooth, not the plastic before paint is applied. I would recommend picking up so primer that is compatible with the paint you are using. Spray the primer per the instructions on the can and sand smooth with 400 grit paper. that should get you a smooth surface to lay down just enough coats of black to completely cover the area in color. then spray the clear per the instructions on the can and that should lay down pretty smooth. if it still has orange peal or texture in the clear sand it smooth with 1000 grit wet or dry paper and then buff to produce the shine. I would think, if the surface is smooth before you spray the black and the clear you should be able to avoid color sanding and rubbing.

Hope that helps and good luck with the Bonneville....  

in my opinion, rattle canning plastics is such a pain! My interior plastics were done that way, and I had the same problem. One round went fine, and a while later, I would spray, and it would dry dull and cloudy. I think it was too cold and wet out, so watch the weather. Keep experimenting. It should NOT be duller with the clear! I wonder how much duller you're talking about...It is going to be hard to get the look you are going for - it will look NICE, but not quite as deep and glossy as you might be expecting. Let us know how it's coming along. I think I just sprayed and sanded until I was kind of satisfied.  

I started with sanding the plastic, but by the end, I was just roughing up the surface and then FILLING with primer, and then sanding that primer smooth. Trying to sand the plastic was making it rougher and rougher (prob getting it too hot in the process of trying to get it smooth). I sanded the primer, finer and finer, and then sanded the first few coats of paint, too.  

First bezel. Turned out better than the second bezel (1st one broke when truck was broken into)
 

Thanks everyone for your help... Also just another question or two. Should I sand in between coats of paint? And what about a lacquer based spray, it says on the can "For A Glass Like Finsh" I read pretty much all your tech articles Calin, you guys put out a great mag, I dont even have a truck!!  

Oh yeah, I had to sand the plastic it had a texture. Should I just primer over it or stick to sanding? Heh... I just saw the edit post button! I'll post pics of one with just paint, and one w/gloss clear to see if you can see the diff.  

I sanded in between coats of paint, esp in areas where there was splatter or it just looked rough.
Yeah I hear ya about the texture, I sanded enough to scruff up that top layer of plastic, but from there filled with primer instead of aiming to get the plastic itself totally smooth.